Mama went to Play with Food - Mamagoto - Restaurant Review

Outlet: Nungambakkam

Address: Shop 9, Oyster Building, Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai

Cuisine: Asian

Overall Rating: 4/5

Never Miss: Hua Hin Highway Roll, Chennai Chiller, Chocolate Cake, Coconut Ice Cream, Basil Cups

“When would I taste the real flavor of South-East Asian food? Would I prefer the taste? They use so much ingredients!!” and that’s how curious I have been to try some Asian food apart from Indian since I started watching MasterChef Australia. But most of the Asian food-themed restaurants in Chennai try to design their food to suit the taste buds of Chennai-walas and I hardly could identify the true essence of Asian food. But Mamagoto have managed to stay to their true self. Setting their food journey at Chennai after their success story at few Metro-cities of India.

Disclaimer: I was invited for the tasting session at Mamagoto; so no-say when it comes to pricing and service. But here’s my foodgasmic experience of ‘playing with the food’ (literal translation of ‘Mamagoto’).

Launching a restaurant at Chennai’s food destination ‘Nungambakkam’ as its own pros and cons. They are Located at the KNK (Khader Nawaz Khan) road opposite to ‘The Square’ with Valet parking. With huge array of restaurants, they have to keep-up their A-game to stay par with other restos. They have kept the decors simple, I loved the wall-arts and lightings. The place was happening with loud music, food and fun. Coming to the food, I felt there is a good amount of food choices for both vegetarians & non-vegetarians. It takes real time to scan through the menu card and order the right dish! We went with the Mamagoto’s Food Directors choice and got some of their signature dishes. And here’s my taste verdict:

Mocktails - Chennai Chiller and Summer Panda

I loved the chiller, perfect blend of all the favorite Chennai flavors (coconut, seasonal fruits, etc). The panda tasted good but you would love it if you are a fan of black salt.

Mocktails

Salad - Crispy Lotus Stem with Burnt Garlic and Dried Red Chilli

First time, I enjoyed a salad. Loved the crispiness of the lotus stem along with garlic and chilli flavors.

Salad

Starters

Hot basil chicken cups & Vegetable basil cups: Tasted delicious! A mouthful of lettuce cups with sauce. Vegetarians have chicken substituted with mushroom.

Basil Cups (Chicken & Mushroom)

Water Chestnut Spring Roll: Spot-on, tasted good. The sauces complemented well.

Hua Hin Highway Rolls: Cheesy flavorsome rolls; the best for the evening. Full-marks!

Water Chestnut & Hua Hin Rolls

Rock Shrimp Tempura: There signature dish, I ended up eating shrimp after years. I don't like shrimp; but the light crispy batter, perfectly cooked prawn along with the chilli mayo dips makes it hard to hate.

Tempura

Dumplings
 

Honey Chicken

Street Style Veg Dumpling: They were steamed to perfection. Another favorite!

Honey Chicken with Bell Peppers with mild Schezwan Pepper – Tasted great, the sauce was irresistible with great flavors.

Main Course

Mixed Vegetables Black Bean Sauce: The stir fired vegetables with bean sauce tasted well. Would be a great compliment for fried rice.

Veges - Black Bean Sauce

Prawn in Lime and Chilli Sauce - This was the best tasting dish in the main course. The sauce was phenomenal.

Prawn - Lime & Chilli

Thai Green Curry Veg & Thai Red Curry Chicken - Both the curries would go well with steamed rice. But I did hate the sweetness of the curries which wasn't an ideal combination with rice (for me). Though that's how they should taste I wasn't fan of the curries.

Thai Curry & Rice

Teriyaki Meal in a Bowl with Sticky Rice and Tofu - Tasted good but the sauce was little sweet; the rice and tofu were a great blend.

Tofu

Teriyaki Meal in a Bowl, Chicken - The meal bowl was good to taste. But again, sweetness in the dishes made it overwhelming. Couldn't spot the flavors except for the sweetness.

Teriyaki Bowl

 

Train Noodles

Chang Mai Train Station Noodles Chicken - The flavors of the gravy and soupiness of the noodles tasted great. Except for sweetness this dish definitely had bold flavors.

Dessert - All the desserts tasted were delicious! FULL MARKS!

Banofee pie - Loved the presentation of the pie in a bowl. Indeed a new way and best tasting banofee pie.

Homemade Coconut and Palm Sugar Ice Cream - The coconuteee ice-cream is so YUMM.

Mama’s Homemade Chocolate Cake - The moistness and chocolateyness was spot-on. Have a spoonful of ice-cream with the cake; oh YUMMM again.

Coconut Ice Cream

Chocolate Cake

Though it was on-the-house we (four people) approximately ate a meal for around Rs. 5000 INR (exclusive of tax). Expensive indeed; but justifiable considering the locality, food and quality. The service was good, they helped us all through the dinner. But a quicker serve would be of more help. Expect for the sweetness personified main-course, which I wasn't big fan off, I enjoyed the Drinks-Starters-Desserts.

Breaking Down Points

Location & Parking (5/5): Biggest Positive. Location does the magic; at food destination of Chennai and easy to spot. Valet parking and huge parking space.

Ambience (4/5): Positive. Simple and vibrant. The place is vivacious.

Food Variety (4.5/5): Positive. Never-ending menu card! Good number of food choices for vegetarians & non-vegetarians for all the courses.

Taste (3.5/5): Good. Full marks for the starters, drinks and desserts. Not a fan of the main-course; though the flavors are bold, too much sweet made them not good for my palate. Do need more spice on the mains!!

Quality (4/5): Positive. The quality of ingredients used and the food presentation grabs full marks.

Quantity (4/5): Positive again:-D. The quantity of everything they serve is impressive; portion size are big (can be shared among 3-4 people).

Pricing (3.5/5): Good. Though I would give the tag ‘expensive’ the locality, cuisine and food defends the price we pay. But be prepared for a hefty bill if you’re a foodie.

Service (3.5/5): Good. They strive to do their best. But I hope they be more prompt and quick. Anyways Kudos! Managing crowd during weekends get over-whelming.

Mamagoto stylishly invites us saying ‘let’s go play with the food’. Definitely going to cool down the long-lasting quest of Chennaitians by serving authentic south-east Asian food. The location grabs your attention and their simple yet attractive ambience is something to be applauded. The food variety, quality and quantity is awe-inspiring. Expect for the sweetness of the main-course (that didn’t match my flavor style), the other courses were SPOT-ON. Kudos to the service. They for sure own the tag ‘expensive’.